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University  Library 
University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


INAUGURATION 


m  A  R  1)    G.    B  ii  C  K  W  1  1  H  , 


*  THE  OAHU  COLLEGE, 


COURT     HOU8ET, 


i)NOLU  EPTBMBEB  i854. 


HONOLU 


INAUGURATION 


OF 


EDWARD  G.  BECKWITH, 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  OAHU  COLLEGE, 


AT  THJi 


COURT    HOUSE, 


HONOLULU,  SEPTEMBER  25,  1854. 


MISSION    PRESS, 

HONOLULU 

1854. 


f-TRR/ 

,. 

PROGRAMME 

X 

OF    THE 

COMMITTEE   OF   ARRANGEMENTS. 


I.  Prayer,  by  REV.  E.  W.  CLARK. 

II.  Music. 

III.  Explanatory  Statement,  by  REV.  R.  ARMSTRONG, 
Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

IV.  Pkdge   of  Fidelity  in   Office,  administered  by 
REV.  S.  C.  DAMON,  Vice  President  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees. 

V.  Response  of  E.  G.  BECKWITH,  Esq.,    President 
Elect. 

VI.  Address  to  the  President,  by  REV.  S.  C.  DAMON. 

VII.  Inaugural  Address,  by  E.  G.  BECKWITH,  Esq. 

VIII.  Music. 

IX.  Benediction,  by  REV.  L.  SMITH. 


EXPLANATORY     ADDRESS, 

BY 

REV.  R.  ARMSTRONG. 


I  am  requested,  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  Trus 
tees  of  the  institution  whose  interests  have  called  us 
together,  to  make  a  few  explanatory  remarks  in  re 
gard  to  it  ;  in  order  that  the  exercises  which  are  to 
follow  may  be  listened  to  with  a  more  full  under 
standing  of  the  causes  which  have  operated  to  bring 
it  to  its  present  condition. 

The  Punahou  School  had  its  origin  in  the  wants  of 
the  children  connected  with  the  families  of  the  Ameri 
can  Mission  on  these  islands.  Those  wants  began  to 
to  be  felt  and  even  to  press  heavily  on  the  minds  of 
parents  at  a  veiy  early  period  of  their  residence  here. 
Burdened  as  they  were  with  care  and  labor  for  the 
people,  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  devote  that  at 
tention  to  their  own  children  which  was  necessary  to 
lit  them  for  the  duties  of  life  without  serious  detri 
ment  to  the  great  work  in  which  they  v\ere  engaged. 
To  send  them  far  off,  to  the  land  of  their  fathers  for 
education,  at  a  tender  age,  when  they  were  old 
enough  to  require  regular  instruction,  was  both  un 
natural  and  inexpressibly  paimul  ;  yet,  for  many 
years,  it  was  endured,  rather  than  see  their  children 
grow  up  around  them  uneducated,  anJ  perhaps  little 
elevated  above  the  natives  ihey  ca  ne  to  teach. 

The  necessity  pressed  more  and  more  heavily  from 
1* 


year  to  year  ;  but  for  want  of  a  suitable  teacher  and! 
the  means  to  establish  a  school,  the  difficulty  was  not 
relieved  until  after  the  lapse  of  more  than  twenty 
years  from  the  commencement  of  the  Mission.  The 
Punahou  school  was  begun  in  the  year  1841,  under 
the  instruction  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dole,  who  has  con 
tinued  to  be  its  principal  until  the  present  time.  It  has 
formed  a  very  important  part  of  the  missionary  estab 
lishment,  and  has  been  the  means  of  incalculable 
good.  Into  it  have  been  received  from  the  first,  one 
hundred  and  twenty-two  pupils,  some  eight  or  nine 
of  whom  have,  or  are  about  to  enter  colleges  in  the 
United  States  ;  others  are  engaged  in  teaching,  and 
others  still  are  settled  in  business  among  us. 

The  question  may  arise  in  your  minds:  why  change 
its  character  ?  why  attempt  to  erect  it  into  a  college  ? 
We  answer,  in  the  opinion  of  its  Board  of  Trustees, 
and  many  of  the  friends  of  education,  the  wants  of  the 
community  demand  an  institution  of  a  higher  grade 
than  any  that  now  exists,  where  our  youth  who  de 
sire  it,  may  acquire  a  liberal  Christian  education,  and 
fit  themselves  to  enter  upon  the  study  of  the  learned 
professions,  or  the  duties  of  active  life,  and  that  Pu 
nahou  is  the  place  for  it.  The  same  motives  that 
called  it  into  existence  as  a  primary  school  thirteen 
years  ago,  now  demand  its  expansion  into  a  school  of 
a  higher  grade  ;  that  on  the  same  principle  by  \\hich 
we  feel  it  important  to  produce  our  own  flour  and  our 
own  sugar,  we  should  aim  to  produce  our  own  educa 
ted  men. 

The  circumstances  and  relations,  too,  of  that  body 
for  whose  benefit  that  school  was  originally  estab 
lished,  have  undergone  a  material  change,  and  it 
is  natural  that  their  institutions  should  change  with 
them.  They  are  no  longer,  as  formerly,  under  the 


control  of  a  body  of  men  far  off  in  anothei  land,  but 
have  become  a  portion  of  the  fixed  population  of  the 
country,  and  have  a  common  interest  with  the  nation, 
in  all  that  affects  its  welfare.  With  the  community 
here  they  must  rise  and  advance,  or  sink  and  retro 
grade.  It  is  natural,  therefore,  that  their  institutions 
and  plans  should  change  also  ;  and  in  looking  to 
their  own  educational  wants,  they  look  also  to  those 
of  the  nation  of  vhich  they  form  a  component  part, 
It  has  been  a  growing  conviction,  therefore,  in  the 
minds  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  friends  of  this 
institution,  for  some  years,  that  a  commencement 
should  be  made  for  a  college  on  the  Islands,  and  that 
no  other  place  affords  so  many  advantages  as  Puna- 
hou.  The  location  is  confessedly  excellent  ;  build 
ings  sufficient  for  the  present  are  already  erected ; 
some  four  hundred  acres  of  land  belong  to  the  estab 
lishment,  and  lie  adjacent  to  it  ;  and  there  are  a 
number  of  youth  among  us  looking  forward  to  a  li 
beral  education. 

Moved  by  such  considerations  as  these,  the  Trus 
tees  applied  to  the  Hawaiian  Government  more  than 
a  year  ago,  for  a  charter  for  a  college,  which  was 
granted  on  the  23rd  of  May,  1853,  and  which  I  here 
hold  in  my  hand.* 

The  Board  of  Missions  in  Boston,  not  only  sympa 
thize  with  these  vieus,  but  urge  them  in  the  strong 
est  manner.  They  tell  us  we  must  have  a  College;  for 
until  we  have  this,  we  have  nothing  permanent.  And 
if  we,  here,  are  zealous  and  energetic  in  the  w?ork, 
they  will  not  be  wanting  in  giving  us  a  helping  hand. 
They  even  now  guarantee,  as  a  pledge  of  their  ear 
nestness,  to  pay  the  salaries  of  the  President  and 

*  Sec  Appendix. 


8 

Professor,  for  the  present.  During  the  past  year 
they  have  sought  for  a  suitable  person  to  become 
President  of  the  contemplated  college,  but  have  fail 
ed,  and  hence  the  Trustees  have  made  choice  of  the 
gentleman  who  is  now  to  be  inducted  into  office,  and 
who  will  address  you  this  evening. 

The  Trustees  indulge  the  hope  that  these  incipient 
measures  to  found  a  college  will  meet  the  approbation 
of  the  friends  of  education  generally  among  us  ;  and 
that  with  the  blessing  of  God  on  our  efforts,  however 
humble  our  beginning,  an  institution  may  arise  in  due 
time,  that  will  be  at  once  the  emblem  of  our  civili 
zation,  the  evidence  of  our  progress,  and  a  blessing 
to  future  generations. 


PLEDGE. 


MB.  EDWARD  G.  BECKWITH  : 

Sir,  by  an  unanimous  vote  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 
of  the  Oahu  College,  you  have  been  chosen  President 
of  that  Institution.  You  do  now  publicly,  and  in  the 
fear  of  God,  assume  this  high  and  responsible  trust, 
with  the  solemn  pledge  on  your  part,  that  to  the  best 
of  your  ability,  you  will  perform  the  duties  devolving 
upon  you,  in  this  capacity,  agreeably  to  the  laws  and 
regulations  of  the  Institution. 


RESPONSE. 


Sir:  I  thank  the  Board  of  Trustees  for  the  confi 
dence  which  they  have  reposed  in  me,  and  the  honor 
which  they  have  conferred  on  me  in  electing  me  to 
this  office.  I  enter  upon  the  discharge  of  its  re 
sponsible  duties,  Sir,  with  much  distrust  of  my  ability, 
but  with  a  firm  resolution,  by  the  help  of  God,  to  dis 
charge  those  duties  faithfully,  to  the  best  of  my  abili- 
ty,  and  according  to  the  laws  of  the  Institution. 


ADDRESS, 


REV.  S.  C.  DAMON, 


On  behalf  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  it  becomes  my 
duty  to  declare  you  as  duly  inaugurated  and  invested 
with  this  office,  in  token  of  which  I  hereby  present 
you  with  the  keys  of  the  Institution. 

Having  now  invested  you  with  the  insignia  of  your 
official  station,  at  the  head  of  the  Oahu  College  I  can 
not  refrain  from  offering  a  few  brief  remarks,  naturally 
suggested  by  this  occasion.  It  is  to  be  presumed, 
Mr.  President,  that  you  have  carefully  considered  the 
responsibilities,  and  weighed  the  duties  of  that  post 
of  trust,  honor  and  dignity,  which  you  now  occupy. 
It  is  to  be  presumed  that  your  mind,  by  anticipation, 
has  already  become  somewhat  familiarized  with  the 
trials  and  difficulties,  which  must  necessarily  attend 
the  building  up  of  an  institution  worthy  of  the  name 
of  a  college  ;  and  which  ere  long,  it  is  to  be  hoped, 
will  favorably  compare  with  the  noble  colleges  and 
Universities  of  our  father-land  and  of  Europe.  Those 
fountains  of  learning,  literature,  science  and  piety, 
were  once  as  humble  as  that  over  which  you  now 
preside.  An  historical  comparison  with  some  of 
those  time-honored  and  renowned  seminaries,  show 
that  the  Oahu  College  is  ushered  into  being  under 
the  most  favorable  auspices.  There  is,  allow  me  to 


11 

assure  you,  a  bright  as  well  as  a  dark  side  to  the  pic 
ture.  There  is  much  to  inspire  you  and  your  associ 
ate  with  hope  and  encouragement.  As  instructors 
of  youth,  your  profession  is  honored  and  respected  in 
this  community.  Public  sentiment  will  not  oppose, 
but  cheer  you  forward.  The  foreign  community  in 
these  islands  is  not  large,  but  it  embraces  talented 
and  educated  men,  who  can  appreciate  good  scholar 
ship  and  sound  learning.  4  .ry 

This  was  recently  a  land  of  darkness,  but  into  the 
very  midst  thereof  the  school-master  pushed  his  \vay, 
holding  up  the  lamp  of  learning,  lighted  at  the  altar 
of  Christianity.  Darkness  made  visible  is  now  pass 
ing  away,  while  civilization,  commerce  and  Christi 
anity  are  struggling  and  combining  their  forces  to 
gather  upon  Hawaiian  shores  the  elements  of  true 
national  prosperity.  There  are  opposing  influences, 
but  it  needs  no  prophet's  ken  to  foresee  which  shall 
triumph.  We  have  hitherto  had  our  common  schools 
among  natives  and  foreigners.  At  Lahainaluna  there 
has  been  established  for  the  education  of  the  former, 
a  higher  s.eminary  of  learning — a  college,  if  you 
please  to  dignify  it  with  that  name.  But  the  time  has 
come  when  a  higher  seminary  of  learning  is  demanded 
among  foreigners.  We  have  had  our  lesser  lights  of 
learning,  but  now  we  desire  a  greater.  The  site 
selected  fur  the  Oahu  College  is,  unquestionably,  the 
most  favorable  of  any  upon  the  Islands.  A  good  be 
ginning  has  already  been  made.  For  many  years  a 
prosperous  school  has  been  there  sustained.  The 
graduates  of  the  Punahou  School,  scattered  over 
these  Islanils  and  studying  in  the  colleges  of  the 
United  States,  by  the  high  stand  which  they  have 
taken  for  scholarship,  reflect  much  credit  upon  their 
respective  teachers,  and  the  moral  training  of  the  In- 


12 

stitution.  Your  associate  has  labored  there  long  and 
faithfully.  His  instruction  commenced  thirteen  years 
ago,  when  the  school  was  established.  His  acknow 
ledged  classical  attainments,  eminently  qualify  him 
for  that  professorship  of  languages,  to  which  he 
has  been  invited  in  the  Institution.  Both  of  you 
enter  upon  your  respective  offices,  enjoying  the 
confidence  of  the  Trustees  and  this  community. 
Ere  long,  I  trust,  others  will  be  called  to  share 
with  you  the  responsibility  of  instructors  in  the 
College. 

Under  such  auspices,  and  with  an  humble  but  firm 
reliance  upon  Divine  assistance,  I  look  forward  with 
fond  and  pleasing  anticipations.  I  do  anticipate  for 
the  Oahu  College  a  long  and  bright  career  of  useful 
ness.  I  entertain  ho  manner  of  doubt  that  ere  long, 
classes  of  well-trained  and  highly  educated  young 
men  will  annually  go  forth  prepared  to  enter  success 
fully  upon  the  duties  of  professional  life,  and  will,  by 
their  attainments  in  literature  and  science,  reflect 
honor  upon  their  Alma  Mater. 

Respected  Sir,  allow  me  to  pledge  you  and  your 
associate  the  cordial  sympathy  and  support  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees  ;  I  feel  assured  that  I  may  also 
pledge  you  the  fostering  care  of  the  Missionary  Board, 
which  now  generously  appropriates  funds  for  the 
support  of  the  Institution.  The  presence  of  this  in 
telligent  audience  inspires  me  with  confidence  that 
you  will  have  the  sympathy  of  the  foreign  commu 
nity.  I  close  by  expressing  my  earnest  desire  that 
the  Oahu  College  may  never  want  able  instructors, 
studious  pupils,  wise  trustees  and  generous  friends. 


INAUGURAL    ADDRESS, 

BY 

~  • 

THE  PRESIDENT. 


It  would  be  appropriate  to  an  occasion  like  this,  to 
select  some  subject  for  discussion,  aside  from  the  or 
dinary  questions  of  every  day  life  ;  and,  were  I  speak 
ing  under  the  inspiration  of  classic  scenes,  it  might 
be  expected  that  I  should  confine  myself  to  the  con 
sideration  of  classic  themes.  But  no  such  inspiration 
moves  us  here,  and  if  we  depart  a  little  from  the  or 
dinary  routine  of  literary  topics,  no  venerable  halls 
will  blush  at  the  desecration  ;  no  august  body  of  titled 
dignitaries  will  frown  upon  our  want  of  literary  taste. 

The  enterprise  which  has  called  us  together,  is  new. 
We  are  laying  the  foundations  of  what  we  hope  may 
hereafter  be  a  symmetrical  structure.  This,  then,  is 
no  time  for  speculative  discussions  ;  it  is,  rather,  a 
time  for  determining  our  necessities,  calculating  our 
power,  and  resolving  our  purposes.  It  is  a  time  for 
planning  and  building,  not  for  admiring.  A  little 
plain  talk  about  our  present  and  prospective  wants 
will  be  more  to  our  purpose  than  any  attempt  at  a 
learned  or  literary  prelection.  As,  in  the  erection  of 
the  most  gorgeous  cathedral,  there  must  be  a  time 
for  its  rough  work  as  well  as  for  its  finish,  so,  in  this 
beginning  of  our  enterprise,  we  may  properly,  even 
in  our  discussion,  begin  with  the  hammer  and  the 
2 


14 

trowel >  the  tools  of  the  Common  workman,  and  wait 
till  the  stones  are  laid  and  the  dome  completed,  be 
fore  we  attempt  to  fresco  its  walls  and  tesselate  its 
pavements. 

This  is  emphatically  a  business  community  ;  you 
are  business  men,  and  have  a  right  to  demand  of  him 
who  ventures  to  address  you,  a  practical  exposition  of 
the  grounds  upon  which  this  enterprise  is  begun. 
You  have  no  time  to  be  pleased  with  beautiful  theories 
and  rhetorical  flourishes.  Omitting  all  these,  then, 
and  passing  by  all  those  topics  connected  with  the 
general  subject  of  education,  which  under  the  circum 
stances  would  be  peculiarly  appropriate  to  an  occa 
sion  like  this,  I  shall  proceed,  at  once,  to  the  discus 
sion  of  the  practical  question,  Is  a  College  needed  at 
these  Islands  ? 

The  education  of  the  young  being  the  end  proposed, 
the  question  before  us  is  simply  this,  How  can  this 
end  be  best  accomplished?  The  employment  of  pri 
vate  tutors,  in  a  community  like  this,  is  entirely  im 
practicable,  to  say  nothing  of  the  inefficiency  of  such 
a  mode  of  instruction.  But  two  methods,  then,  have 
any  claim  upon  our  consideration  ;  either  our  child 
ren  must  be  sent  to  foreign  lands  for  their  collegiate 
education,  or  a  college  must  be  established  and  sus 
tained  among  us.  I  propose  to  discuss  these  two 
methods  briefly,  and,  if  it  shall  appear  to  be  the  wiser 
course  to  transplant  our  sons  to  a  foreign  clime,  soon 
to  be  retransplanted  to  their  native  soil,  let  us  burn 
our  charter  and  abandon  our  project,  before  the  world 
shall  have  occasion  to  "  mock,  saying,  These  men 
began  to  build  and  were  not  able  to  finish  ;"  but  if 
not,  let  us  gird  ourselves  for  this  work  with  a  holy 
purpose  and  an  unflinching  energy.  I  say  energy; 
for  if  we  accomplish  any  thing  we  shall  need  it.  In 


I 

such  a  country  and  under  such  circumstances,  a  col 
lege  cannot  spring  forth,  Minerva-like,  panoplied  for 
the  intellectual  conflict  ;  it  must  grow  up  with  the 
increasing  wants  of  a  growing  people  ;  it  must  be 
prepared  to  outlive  neglect,  and  contempt,  and  open 
opposition.  Obscure  and  humble  in  its  beginning,  it 
must  struggle  up  through  the  darkness,  into  the  sun 
shine  of  popular  favor. 

Let  us,  then,  first  consider  the  advantages  of  a  for 
eign  education.  These  arise  chiefly  from  the  exist 
ence  of  well  endowed  institutions.  There  the  pupil 
is  placed  under  the  ablest  instructors,  has  access  to 
extensive  libraries,  and  all  the  apparatus  for  scientific 
investigation  is  placed  within  his  reach.  That  these 
are  advantages  in  favor  of  a  foreign  education,  cannot 
be  denied.  But  let  us  not  over  estimate  them.  Let 
us  see  exactly  how  much  each  advantage  is  worth, 
above  what  you  may  have  here.  They  have  able  in 
structors.  And  why  may  not  you  ?  Is  all  the  supe 
rior  talent  of  England  and  America  already  cloistered 
in  their  colleges  and  universities  ? 

You  are,  it  is  true,  compelled  to  begin  your  enter 
prise  under  unfavorable  auspices,  with  an  ordinary, 
unpretending  teacher  at  its  head,  who  can  bring  to 
its  support,  neither  the  influence  of  titulary  honors, 
nor  long  experience,  nor  literary  reputation.  But 
let  it  once  appear  that  there  is  a  demand  for  talent 
here,  and  a  field  of  usefulness,  and  you  may  have  men 
to  fill  your  presidency  and  professorships  of  whom  the 
proudest  university  in  the  father-land  need  not  be 
ashamed.  Men  of  ability  and  reputation  will  not  be 
wanting,  when  you  have  demonstrated  the  necessity 
for  them.  And  when  you  have  provided  the  living 
instructor — a  corps  of  teachers  of  extensive  acpuire- 

ments  and  possessing  the  true  teacher's  spirit — you 

--  ^i;-: 


16 

have  prepared  the  way  for  overcoming  all  other  ob 
stacles.  Where  the  real  teacher  is,  there  libraries, 
and  philosophical  collections,  and  cabinets  will  clus 
ter  ;  they  belong  there,  and  there  they  will  fall  as 
naturally  as  riches  fall  into  the  hands  of  diligence  ; 
not  all  at  once,  but  as  necessity  demands  them. 

But,  to  this  end,  your  teacher  must  be  peculiarly 
fitted  for  his  work.  He  must  be  a  man  of  superior 
ability,  and  varied  attainments,  that  he  may  command 
respect  as  well  as  impart  instruction  ;  he  must  have 
quick  susceptibilities,  to  catch  the  varying  shades  of 
thought  and  feeling  in  the  youthful  mind  ;  he  must 
have  a  heart  in  sympathy  with  the  sympathies  of 
youth,  that  he  may  win  their  love  :  he  must  have  a 
soul  so  charged  with  living  energy,  as  to  start  every 
soul  with  which  it  communicates,  into  a  new  and 
healthy  activity. 

It  is  not  every  learned  man  who  is  fit  for  a  profes- 
sorkhip.  A.  man  may  have  all.  the  knowledge  of  a 
philosopher,  and  the  wisdom  of  a  sage  and  the  virtue 
of  a  saint,  and  yet  be  as  deaf  to  the  sympathies  of 
youth  as  the  plaster  cast  that  sits  above  his  library. 
There  are  some  men  whose  minds  seem  to  have  been 
chiselled  after  the  most  perfect  model  of  an  intel 
lectual  statue.  Virtue,  and  knowledge,  and  strength, 
are  blended  in  their  mental  organisms,  in  the  most 
harmonious  proportions,  but,  for  any  life-giving  ener 
gy,  for  moulding  other  minds  into  the  same  beautiful 
symmetry,  they  are  as  powerless  as  the  unbreathing 
marble.  They  are  at  home  among  the  stars,  or  in 
their  laboratories,  or  among  their  moth-eaten  folios  ; 
but  they  are  utterly  ignorant  of  the  way  into  the 
labyrinth  of  the  youthful  heart.  Such  men  are  not  fit 
for  teachers.  They  may  read  learned  lectures,  reason 
logically,  and  talk  profoundly,  and  wise  men  may 


17 

profit  from  their  wisdom  ;  but  they  only  darken  coun 
sel  in  the  untutored  youthful  mind.  They  have  pow 
er,  but  it  is  the  power  of  repulsion,  not  of  attraction. 
They  awaken  no  dormant  energy  ;  kindle  no  enthu 
siasm  ;  implant  no  holy  purpose.  Among  the  young, 
ardent,  impulsive,  changeful,  confiding,  with  feelings 
so  delicately  adjusted  that  the  least  breath  of  unkind- 
ness  disturbs  their  harmony,  such  a  teacher  is  like  a 
glacier  slidden  down  into  the  sunny  vales  of  Switzer 
land.  Think,  many  times,  before  committing  your 
son  to  such  instruction,  lest,  in  after  years,  as  the  re 
sult  of  your  indiscretion,  he  may  have  to  struggle 
against  embittered  feelings,  and  a  discouraged  spirit. 

He,  only,  is  a  true  teacher,  who  can  awaken  in  the 
young  mind  a  consciousness  of  its  own  powers,  and 
fasten  there  an  enthusiastic  determination  to  strive  to 
fulfil  its  high  responsibilities. 

Provide  an  institution  with  a  corps  of  such  teachers, 
and,  if  necessity  requires  it,  your  library  shelves  will 
not  long  be  empty,  nor  your  philosophical  collections 
be  limited  to  a  broken  electrical  battery  and  a 
squeaking  orrery. 

This  first  and  greatest  of  all  your  difficulties,  the 
want  of  suitable  instructors,  is,  then,  it  appears  to 
me, .easily  surmounted.  Demonstrate  your  necessi 
ties,  demand  their  services,  and  your  institution  may 
soon  be  officered  with  an  able  and  efficient  faculty. 

But  with  all  this  accomplished,  there  may  be,  in 
your  minds,  a  practical  present  difficulty.  Though 
it  may  be  true,  you  say,  that  all  the  apparatus  of  a 
well  endowed  institution,  will  follow  in  the  train  of 
efficient  instructors,  yet  this  will  require  time  ;  years 
must  elapse  before  a  new  institution  can  gather 
around  it  the  literary  and  philosophical  collections 
and  the  cabinets  of  older  institutions  in  other  lands. 
5* 


18 

How,  meanwhile,  shall  our  sons  be  educated  ?  This 
is,  certainly,  a  practical  difficulty  ;  for,  if  our  young 
men  are  to  be  sent  abroad  till  an  institution  can  be 
established  here  which  shall  rival  those  in  foreign 
lands,  we  shall  begin  to  build  in  vain,  for  these  young 
men  are  the  material  upon  which  we  depend  for  the 
success  of  our  effort.  Let  us,  then,  consider  for  a 
moment,  the  object  of  a  collegiate  education,  and  see 
whether  extensive  libraries  and  cabinets  are  of  such 
absolute  importance,  that  we  cannot  even  begin  our 
enterprise  until  the  volumes  and  specimens  upon  our 
shelves  are  reckoned  by  thousands. 

The  object  of  a  collegiate  education  we  believe  to 
be  chiefly,  mental  discipline.  The  course  of  study 
prescribed  in  all  such  institutions  has  a  special  refer 
ence  to  this  end.  It  is  not  to  train  men  for  law,  or 
medicine,  or  divinity,  or  natural,  science  ;  but  to 
train  mind  to  exact  thought  and  independent  investi 
gation  ;  to  teach  the  young  man  his  power,  and  give 
him  an  impulse  in  *a  course  of  upward  and  endless 
progression.  The  college  is  not  the  place  for  profes 
sional  or  scientific  study  ;  it  is  not  the  place,  even, 
for  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  ;  if  it  were,  then  we 
should  strike  out  of  our  catalogues  all  those  severer 
studies,  and  set  the  pupil  afloat,  at  once,  upon  the 
boundless  ocean  of  facts  and  philosophical  specula 
tions.  The  professions  and  sciences  are  the  studies 
of  life,  for  which  the  mental  discipline  of  the  college 
course  is  only  preparatory.  Now,  what  course  of 
study, Jn  the  beginning  of  one's  education,  will  en 
sure  the  highest  mental  development  ?  Not  philoso 
phical  speculations  ;  not  an  extensive  course  of  read 
ing.  The  young  mind  is  not  yet  prepared  to  sift  the 
grains  of  truth  from  the  pile  of  chaff  which  the  press 
of  bur  day  heaps  up  before  it.  Study  is  what  it 


19 

needs  ;  close,  severe  study;  and  not  the  study  of  any 
subjects,  indiscriminately,  but  of  those  branches 
which  the  experience  of  centuries  has  demonstrated 
to  be  best  adapted  to  strengthen  the  mind  and  de 
velop  thought.  For  this  purpose  the  young  student 
needs  few  books.  His  text  books  and  a  few  volumes 
for  reference  are  better  than  whole  libraries  besides  ; 
nay,  more  ;  if  the  presence  of  a  library  leads  him  to 
neglect  these,  it  were  better  that  it  be  placed  beyond 
his  reach.  Anc}  this  is  not  mere  theory.  As  a  mat 
ter  of  fact,  college  students  have  little  time  for  gen 
eral  reading.  He  who  masters  thoroughly  the  whole 
college  curriculum,  will  not  be  likely  to  complain  of 
a  want  of  occupation,  even  though  he  pays  few  visits 
to  the  college  library.  There  is  a  class  of  students 
denominated  great  readers,  but,  generally,  they  are 
not  the  close  and  accurate  scholars  Too  lazy  to 
grapple  with  the  severer  studies,  they  betake  them 
selves  to  miscellaneous  reading  ;  but,  if  you  should 
glance  at  the  titles  of  the  armful  of  books  which  they 
carry  from  the  college  library,  you  would  rarely  dis 
cover  among  them  the  Organon  or  the  Principia.  It 
follows,  then,  that  extensive  libraries  are  not  of  such 
vital  importance,  to  the  under -graduates  of  college,  as 
might  at  first  be  supposed. 

The  same  is  true  of  cabinets  of  Natural  History. 
No  faithful  student  has  leisure  even  to  examine  such 
cabinets  minutely,  much  less  to  make  them  his  study. 
This  is  the  work  of  a  lifetime. 

But  upon  this  point  let  me  not  be  misunderstood. 
Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  I  would  underrate  the 
value  of  libraries  and  cabinets.  Their  worth  is  in 
calculable,  and  no  institution  can  long  prosper  with 
out  them.  But  I  would  have  their  uses  understood. 
They  are  invaluable  for  the  professors,  for  authors, 


20 

for  naturalists,  for  every  class  of  literary  and  scienti 
fic  men  ;  and  for  these  they  are  intended.  The 
principal  advantage,  and  almost  the  only  one  which 
the  young  student  derives  from  them,  he  derives  in 
directly,  through  the  increased  facilities  of  his  in 
structors  to  prepare  for  their  work. 

Hence,  the  libraries  of  a  college  are  no  criterion 
of  its  scholarship.  The  number  of  volumes  in  Har 
vard  is  nearly  twice  that  cf  Yale,  and  more  than  five 
times  that  of  Amherst,  or  Williams  ,  but  I  have  yet 
to  learn  that  there  is  any  superiority  of  scholarship 
in  any  one  of  these  over  the  others. 

If  a  nation  must  send  its  sons  abroad  to  be  educa 
ted,  till  it  can  rival  its  sister  nations  in  the  magnifi 
cence  of  its  educational  establishments,  New  England 
should  at  once  bar  the  doors  of  her  colleges,  and  in 
sist  upon  a  universal  exodus  of  her  students  to  Eng 
land,  France,  and  Germany.  But  it  remains. to  be 
shown  that  her  sons  have  not  been  better  educated 
for  the  spheres  in  which  they  were  to  move,  even  in 
the  poorly  endowed  institutions,  of  which  the  learned 
in  the  old  world  might  almost  say  in  derision,  "  Can 
any  good  thing  come  out  of  Nazareth  ?"  than  they 
would  have  been  in  the  more  imposing  universities  of 
Europe. 

In  these  remarks,  let  it  be  distinctly  understood, 
I  do  not  utter  a  syllable  against  libraries.  I  know 
their  value,  and  I  would  that  every  worthy  institution 
possessed  one  as  large  as  the  famous  library  of  India, 
which  required  a  thousand  camels  to  transport  it,  and 
a  hundred  Brahmin's  for  librarians. 

Nor  would  I  say  that  the  well  furnished  college 
has  no  advantages  over  a  poorly  endowed  institution. 
I  would  even  maintain  that  the  very  presence  of  libra 
ries  and  cabinets,  exerts  an  influence  for  good.  They 


21 


t    ,       •      jt  .    •  .  r  .f  t-       fjA       ,  .,      »    rf  ,v**,  *    ixttto'   f        •  f 

inspire  the  student's  heart  with  veneration  for  the 
past  and  with  hope  for  the  future.  The  true  scholar 
never  wanders  through  the  alcoves  and  looks  at  those 
silent  preachers,  without  feeling  anew  enthusiasm  to 
reach  some  of  the  heights  of  knowledge  which  they 
reveal.  I  would  not  undervalue  one  of  these  instru 
mentalities. 

But  I  have  endeavored  to  show  that  these  advan 
tages  are  not  of  such  a  nature  as'  that  the  want  of 
them  in  the  beginning  of  an  enterprise,  will  prevent 
the  student  from  obtaining  a  thorough  and  complete 
collegiate  education.  When  he  has  finished  this  pre 
paratory  discipline,  and  has  entered  upon  a  course  of 
professional  study  or  of  scientific  investigation,  then 
his  business  will  be  among  libraries  and  cabinets. 

There  are  two  other  arguments  in  favor  of  sending 
our  children  abroad  to  be  educated.  It  is  said  to  be 
cheaper.  This  point  I  shall  consider  in  another  part 
of  the  discussion.  Again,  it  is  urged  that  our  child 
ren  will  be  benefitted  by  traveling,  and  hence  the^y 
should  be  sent  to  the  father-land  for  their  education v 
This  argument,  if  good  for  this  country,  is  good  for 
the  United  States,  and  England,  and  France,  and  Ger 
many.  Nor  is  it  any  more  applicable  here  than  there 
because  these  islands  are  so  small  and  remote,  for  in 
no  one  place  can  more  phases  of  human  society  be 
founH,  than  in  this  little  archipelago  in  the  bosom  of 
the  wide  Pacific. 

The  honest,  intelligent  yeomanry  of  New  England, 
never  dream  of  sending  their  sons  to  the  schools  of 
London  or  Paris,  because  they  can  see  more  of  the 
world  there  than  in  their  own  retired  valleys.  No  ; 
they  build  up  colleges  among  their  own  native  moun 
tains  and  wall  them  about  with  home  influences,  and 
shut  out,  if  they  can,  the  wicked  world  with  its  ten 


22 

thousand  temptations,  till  the  minds  of  their  children 
have  grown  to  the  stature  of  intellectual  manhood  ; 
till  they  can  guage  the  depths  of  hollow-hearted  hy 
pocrisy,  and  look  beneath  the  tinsel  of  fashionable 
folly,  and  unravel  the  subtleties  of  infidel  sophistry, 
and  scorn  the  sneers  of  genteel  immorality. 

As  to  the  advantages  of  traveling  in  foreign  lands, 
there  can  be  but  one  opinion.  Whether  your  child 
ren  will  enjoy  them  or  not,  will  generally  be  only  a 
question  of  pecuniary  ability.  Every  one  of  your 
children,  if  possible,  should  see  some  part  of  the 
world  besides  Hawaii  nei.  The  whole  civilized  world 
is  astir  in  this  age  of  steam,  and  he  who  would  not 
fall  in  the  rear  must  be  astir  with  it.  Nothing  but 
the  want  of  means,  prevents  more  than  one  of  us  from 
studying  nature  among  the  Alps,  and  art  in  the  cathe 
drals  and  galleries  of  Europe,  and  men  the  wide 
world  over.  We  should  rejoice  to  stand  upon  the 
shores  of  England,  and  see  humble  life  in  her  cottage 
homes,  and  high  life  in  her  ancestral  mansions  and 
royal  palaces  ;  to  look  upon  her  verdant  fields  and 
u  scent  the  hawthorn  in  its  April  bloom  ;"  to  study 
the  past  on  her  battle-fields  and  among  her  grey  old 
castles  ;  to  divine  the  future  by  the  blaze  of  her  forge 
fires,  and  the  rattling  of  her  thousand  looms,  and  the 
splendor  of  her  crystal  palaces.  We  should  love  to 
breathe  anew  the  air  of  religious  freedom  among  the 
glens  of  Scotland,  and  see  the  end  of  feudal  pride  in 
the  crumbling  castles  of  the  Rhine  ;  to  read  the  ful 
filment  of  prophecy  among  the  desolations  of  Mount 
Sion,  in  the  buried  cities  of  Chaldea,  and  among  the 
ruins  of  Egypt,  whose  thousand  cities  are  wasted  and 
desolate. 

§uch  I  hope  may  be  the  privilege  of  many  of  your 
sons  and  daughters.  But  at  what  age  shall  your 


23 

i  '  i  *      r%  f  -f  i    *  • 

children  be  thus  cast  among  strangers  ?  When  will 
they  be  likely  to  be  profited  by  seeing  the  world  ? 
Not  while  the  mind  is  yet  in  its  boyhood,  knowing 
nothing  beforehand  of  the  scenes  among  which  it 
moves,  and  too  little  disciplined  to  profit  by  their  in 
structions. 

Do  you  expect  the  lad,  who  can  not  even  tell  how 
the  bow  is  painted  "  on  the  bended  heavens,"  to  be 
able  to  interpret  the  ten  thousand  phenomena  of  the 
world  of  nature  into  which  you  would  send  him  ? 
Shall  he  who  has  not  yet  studied  the  first  principles  of 
human  government,  be  expected  to  form  any  just  es 
timate  of  the  great  principles  which  control  the  move 
ments  of  civil  society  ?  Can  he  who  hardly  under 
stands  the  conventionalities  of  the  home  circle,  be 
suddenly  transferred  to  the  gay  world,  so  full  of  fash 
ionable  formalities,  and  form  unprejudiced  views  of 
social  life  ?  Will  he  not  be  likely  to  be  dazzled  by 
the  glitter  of  its  outside  show>  or  be  repelled  by  it's 
hollow  heartedness  ?  It  is  not  strange  that  so  many 
are  lost  in  the  whirlpool  of  popular  pleasure.  It  is 
strange  that  any  such  escape.  Cast  out  into  the 
world  at  an  age  when  they  have  not  yet  learned  the 
deception  of  their  own  hearts  nor  the  motives  of  their 
own  actions;  with  little  knowledge  and  less  judg 
ment  ;  with  youthful  passions  all  unsubdued;  what 
but  Omnipotence  can  save  them  from  the  paths  of  the 
destroyer  ?  Against  such  a  course,  we  protest,  in  the 
name  of  these  youth  for  whom  we  have  cherished  and 
still  do  cherish  high  hopes  for  the  future.  Send  them 
not  out  to  gather  wisdom  on  the  battle  field  of  the 
world  with  no  armor  on.  Let  them  not  go  to  be  the 
victims  of  their  own  impulses,  or  the  dupes  of  design 
ing  villains.  Keep  them,  if  possible,  from  all  such 
dangers  till  reason  takes  the  place  of  impulse  ;  till 


24 

the  mind  is  disciplined,  and  the  judgment  matured, 
and  the  heart  sanctified;  then  let  them  go  forth  and 
gather  knowledge  everywhere,  and  their  minds  will 
grow  stronger  and  their  hearts  better,  by  their  con 
flicts  with  eviL 

Thus  far  we  have  considered  only  the  advantages 
of  educating  our  children  abroad,  and,  if  our  reason 
ing  is  correct,  these  are,  comparatively,  unimportant. 
Let  us  now  consider,  for  a  few  moments,  the  advan 
tages  of  educating  them  here. 

The  first  and  most  obvious  reason  why  we  should 
have  a  school  of  as  high  a  grade  as  possible  among 
us,  is  that  it  will  develop  the  mental  resources  of  the 
country.  I  would  erect  a  college  on  Oahu  for  the 
same  reason  that  I  would  manufacture  sugar  on 
Hawaii,  or  raise  wheat  at  Makawao.  Every  consid 
eration  which  favors  the  development  of  a  nation's 
physical  resources,  applies  with  tenfold  force  to  the 
development  of  mind.  Mental  and  moral  power, 
and  not  money,  is  the  real  standard  of  a  nation's 
strength.  These,  too,  are  a  nation's  glory ;  they 
give  frfer  a  name  and  influence,  even  alter  the  fabric 
of  her  nationality  has  gone  to  decay.  Nineveh  and 
Babylon,  "  the  glory  of  kingdoms,"  "  the  pride  of 
the  Chaldee's  excellency,"  perished,  and  left  no 
trace  of  their  former  magnificence,  but  huge  piles  of 
mouldering  ruins,  which  the  sands  of  the  desert  have 
covered  for  ages.  Greece  and  Rome  perished,  but 
they  will  outlive  the  ruins  of  their  material  grandeur, 
in  the  eloquence  of  their  orators  and  the  epics  of 
their  bards. 

Mind  controls  the  agencies  of  the  material  world  for 
the  progress  of  human  society.  Intellect,  quickened 
into  action  under  the  guidance  of  Christianity,  has 
wrought  out  a  civilization  for  the  world.  What  but 


25 

educated  mind  builds  railroads,  and  telegraphs,  and 
steamships,  and  fills  a  land  with  happy  homes  ?— 
The  surest  way  to  bring  wealth  into  any  country,  is 
to  enlighten  the  people.  Ignorance  cannot  develop 
even  the  physical  resources  of  a  nation  ;  it  has  few 
incentives  to  effort,  nor  does  it  know  how  to  use  its 
advantages.  It  requires  the  appliances  of  science 
and  art  to  purloin  the  hidden  riches  of  nature.  But, 
in  any  country  where  man  can  live,  intelligence  will 
find  sources  of  wealth.  If  the  land  be  sterile,  it  will 
blast  money  from  the  rocks,  or  fish  it  from  the  rivers. 

A  high  degree  of  intelligence  in  any  community  is 
a  sure  index  of  worldly  prosperity.  Eut  the  surest 
way  to  develop  the  mental  resources  of  a  country  is 
to  bring  the  means  of  mental  discipline  into  the. midst 
of  the  people.  Many  will  avail  themselves  of  its  ad 
vantages,  when  brought  to  their  very  doors,  who 
would  never  cross  oceans  to  seek  for  it.  A.  few  will 
be  educated,  at  any  sacrifice,  whether  you  educate 
them  here  or  not  ;  but  the  many  will  turn  aside  in 
the  harvest-time  of  youth,  unless  you  bring  the  means 
of  a  superior  education  directly  in  their  way  ;  nay, 
more,  urge  it  upon  their  acceptance.  It  is  not 
enough  that  those  few  be  educated.  Upon  this 
point  I  feel  that  I  cannot  speak  too  strongly.  I  say, 
it  is  not  enough  that  those  few  be  educated.  Every 
young  man,  and  every  young  woman,  too,  should  be 
educated  to  the  fullest  possible  extent,  limited  only 
by  the  parent's  pecuniary  ability.  Says  the  celebra 
ted  John  Sergeant,  "  Every  parent  who  has  it  in  his 
power,  is  in  duty  bound  to  give  his  child  a  collegiate 
education,  unless  he  can  give  him  a  better ." 

"  But  my  son  is  not  to  be  a  minister,  nor  a  doctor, 
nor  a  lawyer. "     Well ;   will  you  therefore  leave  his 
mind  in  the  darkness  of  ignorance  ?     Shall  he  grope 
3 


26 

his  way  along  among  the  canaille  of  society,  because 
you  have  doomed  him  to  a  mental  blindness?  Will 
you  consign  your  son  or  daughter  to  the  companion 
ship  of  ignorance,  when  they  might  rank  with  the 
wise  and  the  honored  r  Because  a  young  man  is  to 
be  a  mechanic  must  he  therefore  be  a  hewer  of  tim 
ber  and  a  dauber  in  mortar,  when  he  might  be  an 
architect  ?  Because  your  son  is  to  be  a  tradesman, 
will  you  train  him  to  be  a  petty  trafficker  in  tape  and 
needles,  when  he  might  be  a  prince  among  the  lords 
of  commerce  ?  • 

But  it  is  said  that  a  liberal  education  unfits  a  man 
for  business.  _  If  by  this  it  is  meant  that  your  child 
whom  you  had  selected  for  some  handicraft,  but 
whom  God  intended  for  a  higher  mission,  has  felt 
the  kindlings  of  a, higher  nature  within  him,  and  Is 
no  longer  willing  to  bend  to  the  drudgery  of  honest 
but  ignorant  toil,  while  there  are  laurels  to  be  won 
in  the  fields  of  science,  or  souls  to  be  Won  to  the  do 
minion  of  Christ,  it  is  true  ;  he  is  unfit  for  the  busi 
ness  for  which  you  intended  him,  because  he  has 
found  a  capacity  within  him  for  a  business  infinitely 
above  it.  But  if  it  is  meant  that  knowledge  and 
mental  discipline  unfit  a  man  for  the  duties  of  life,  I 
say  no  !  no  !  If  so,  then  put  out  the  lamp  of  science, 
seal  the  fountains  of  knowledge,  burn  your  libraries, 
disband  your  schools,  put  an  interdict  upon  thought, 
and  enthrone  ignorance  in  the  citadel  of  the  soul. 
Again  I  say  no  !  Knowledge  does  not  unfit  a  man 
for  the  practical  duties  of  life  ;  not  even  to  buy,  and 
sell,  and  get  again.  If  your  children  are  to  be  mere 
servants,  going  and  coming  at  another's  bidding, 
puppets,  moved  by  the  strings  of  another's  intellect, 
let  them  be  ignorant  ;  nothing  could  fit  them  better 
for  such  a  service.  But  why  should  those  who  are 


27 

able  to  educate  their  children,  covet  for  them  such  a 
life  of  intellectual  servitude  ?  There  are  enough  to 
fill  those  ranks  whom  absolute  necessity  compels  to 
a  life  of  comparative  ignorance. 

It  is  a  very  common  idea  that  those  who  are-  in 
tended  for  the  learned  professions,  should  receive  a 
thorough  education,  while  those  in-tended  for  the 
more  active  pursuits  do  not  need  it.  But  why 
should  one  rejoice  in  the  joy  of  expanding  faculties, 
and  have  a  thousand  avenues  of  pleasure  opened 
up  to  his  soul,  while  the  other  is  doomed  tt>  a  life  of 
comparative  mental  stupidity,  and  forced  to  find  en 
joyment  in  the  paths  of  sensual  pleasure  ?  .Why  this 
difference  ?  Is  it  because  the  duties  of  the  one  re 
quire  so  much  more  mental  power  than  those  of  the 
other  ?  I  am  not  willing  to  accept  the  statement 
thus.  It  is  not  a  small  mind  thai  can  plan  and  carry 
out  successfully,  the  details  of  an  extensive  manufac 
turing,  or  a  mercantile,  or  monetary  establishment. 
It  is  not  ignorance  that  can  trace  the  intricacies  of 
business,  and  calculate  the  probable  result  of  great 
public  or  private  enterprises.  I  vv^ulcl  do  honor  to 
the  lords  of  commerce,  and  agriculture,  and  art. 
They  are  not  to  be  ranked  among  mean  men.  True, 
many  of  them  have  attained  distinction  without  the 
aid  of  the  specific  mental  discipline  for  which  we 
contend,  by  the  native  force  of  their  own  characters. 
And  so  have  many  in  the  learned  professions  risen 
to  eminence  by  their  own  unaided  efforts  ;  but  thou 
sands  more  have  attained  an  equal  rank,  who  would 
never  have  risen  above  the  common  level,  but  for 
this  preparatory  training.  Why  would  it  not  be  thus 
in  the  pursuit  of  active  life  ? 

But  it  is  sometimes  asked,    Why  should  a  young 
man  study  those  things  which  he  never  intends  to 


28 

use,  and  which,  perhaps,  he  may  forget,  the  moment 
he  enters  upon  active  life  ?  For  the  same  reason 
that  a  boy  takes  food,  to  strengthen  and  nourish  him 
that  he  may  grow  to  the  stature  of  a  perfect  man. 
Some  men  who  would  be  shocked  at  the  very  iJea  of 
only  half  feeding  their  children  lest  they  should  grow 
up  with  bodies  dwarfed  or  diseased,  will  starve  their 
minds  by  withholding  from  them  that  knowledge 
upon  which  alone  their  minds  can  grow.  The  mind 
can  no  more  become  strong  and  vigorous  without 
being  properly  fed,  than  the  body.  The  man  may 
forget  that  knowledge  which  has  given  him  mental 
vigor,  just  as  he  may  forget  upon  what  meats  he  fed; 
but  he  will  ever  be  conscious  of  the  power  which  he 
derived  from  it.  A  man's  mental  power,  other 
things  being  equal,  will  be  in  the  direct  ratio  of  his 
mental  training.  The  more  practical  the  studies 
from  which  he  derives  the  discipline,  the  better,  if 
the  discipline  is  as  good  ;  but  the  training  he  must 
have  from  some  source,  or  toddle  through  life,  an  in 
tellectual  dwarf. 

If  these  things  are  so,  those  parents  pursue  a 
policy  fatal  to  the  highest  welfare  of  their  children, 
who  take  them  early  from  the  means  of  instruction, 
and  put  them  in  the  shop,  or  behind  the  counter, 
unless  necessity  compels  them  to  such  a  course. 
By  so  doing  they  doom  them  to  a  life  of  mental  im 
becility,  and  to  an  unenviable  mediocrity  in  their 
profession.  They  never  .will,  they  never  can  rise 
above  it,  unless  gifted  with  that  transcendent  genius 
which  makes  a  man  superior  to  circumstances. 

There  is  another  question  which  is  sometimes 
asked.  Parents  have  sometimes  ?aid  to  me,  "  Do 
you  think  it  will  pay  to  educate  my  son  P  Isn't  he 
rather  dull  and  unpromising  ?"  Pay  ?  Will  it  pay 


29 

to  train  your  son  to  be  a  man  f  Will  it  pay  to  fit 
him  to  enjoy  life's  pleasures  and  endure  life's  trials  ? 
What  do  such  parents  mean  ?  Because  the  eyes  of 
their  child's  mental  vision  are  feeble,  will  they  close 
them  utterly  with  the  weight  of  ignorance  ?  Because 
his  mind  is  weak  will  they  consign  it  to  a  hopeless 
imbecility  ?  Does  a  parent  ever  so  deal  with  his 
child's  physical  nature  ?  Because  one  son  is  strong 
and  "another  weak,  does  h@  feed  and  clothe  and  dis 
cipline  the  strong  with  all  a  parent's  wisdom  and 
gentleness,  and  leave  the  feeble  one  to  pine  away  in 
his  weakness,  or  to  struggle  along  under  the  double 
weight  of  disease  and  neglect  ?  Does  he  not  rather 
feel  himself  under  greater  obligation  to  care  for  the 
weakly  one,  sparing  no  expense  to  overcome  his  in 
firmities  and  give  him  a  strong  and  vigorous  bodj. 
Why  then  should  he  neglect  to  educate  the  mind  be 
cause  it  is  dull  or  feeble.  Is  a  child's  physical 
nature  so  far  superior  to  his  mental,  that  the  weak 
ness  of  the  one  calls  for  increased  diligence  in  its 
development,  while  the  weakness  of  the  other  is  onlj 
an  occasion  for  leaving  it  to  grow  up  in  neglect,  to 
struggle  as  best  it  can,  unaided,  against  its  in 
firmities  ? 

But  suppose  it  were  shown  that  law  and  divinity 
require  more  mental  culture  than  science  and  art ; 
it  does  not  therefore  follow  that  the  highest  possible 
discipline  compatible  with  necessary  duty,  should 
not  be  given  to  each.  Each  profession,  and  eack 
department  of  business  requires  a  specific  prepara 
tion  ;  but  besides  all  these,  and  above  all  these,  is 
that  preparation  which  fits  man  for  life\  for  compan 
ionship  with  man.  Each  man  has  duties  to  per 
form  as  a  member  of  society ;  as  a  parent,  * 
brother,  a  friend  ;  to  sympathize  with  suffering  ; 
3* 


30 

to  relieve  distress  ;  to  aid  in  carrying  out  these 
grand  schemes  of  benevolence  whose  field  is  the 
world  ;  to  do  battle  in  the  cause  of  human  freedom. 
These  are  the  duties  of  life.  From  these  none  have 
a  right  to  excuse  themselves.  They  are  higher 
duties  than  professions  and  trades.  What  else  is  a 
man's  business  for  but  to  enable  him  better  to  dis 
charge  these  higher  duties  ?  Is  it  to  heap  up 
wealth,  to  gratify  an  insatiable  thirst  for  gold  ?  No; 
leave  that  to  the  miser,  wrapped  in  the  rags  of  his 
consuming  avarice.  Men  do  not  live  that  they  may 
follow  their  profession  ;  they  follow  their  professions 
that  they  may  the  better  live. 

When  a  man  makes  his  trade  the  end  of  his  labors, 
instead  of  a  means  to  a  higher  end,  he  stoops  from 
the  high  dignity  of  his  manhood  ;  he  degrades  the 
faculties  with  which  his  Maker  has  endowed  him. 

Above  manual  labor,  then,  above  trades,  above 
professions,  is  this  broad  field  of  mutual  relations 
and  mutual  obligations,  involving  the  highest  in 
terests  of  society,  and  requiring  the  noblest  powers 
of  mind  and  heart.  It  is  to  stand  upon  this  high 
common  ground  that  I  would  have  all  educated. 
The  merchant  and  the  artizan  are  under  the  same 
obligations  to  fit  themselves  for  the  discharge  of  the 
duties  in  these  the  highest  of  all  relations  in  life, 
as  the  lawyer  and  the  divine.  To  meet  these  obli 
gations  requires  knowledge,  and  mental  power,  and 
a  refined  taste  ;  a  cultivated  intellect  and  a  cultiva 
ted  heart  ;  it  needs  an  '  education  which  reaches 
farther  than  the  treadmill  of  one's  profession. 

But  there  is  another  reason  why  I  would  urge 
every  one  who  has  it  in  his  power  to  give  his  children 
a  liberal  education.  Each  of  those  children  has  a 
mind  capable  of  unlimited  expansion  upward  towards 


31 

the  true,  the  beautiful,  the  good.  But  the  tendency 
is  downward,  towards  sensuality,  and  the  forces  of 
evil  are  ceaselessly  active  to  draw  it  still  lower.  The 
mind  itself  too,  is  ceaselessly  active,  and,  if  it  has 
no  higher  incentive*,  it  will  expend  its  energies  upon 
what  is  low  and  degrading.  The  young  man  who 
has  not  learned  to  find  pleasure  in  cultivating  the 
higher  faculties  of  his  mind,  will  yield  to  his  lower 
propensities. 

Every  young  man  has  leisure  from  the  cares  of 
business  ;  times  when  he  seeks  companionship  as  a 
relief  from  toil.  Then,  if  he  is  not  prepared  by  pre 
vious  education  for  the  society  of  the  wise  and  good, 
he  will  be  driven,  of  necessity,  to  the  company  of 
the  low  and  vicious.  Every  young  person  finds 
some  time  for  reading,  in  this  age  of  books.  Now, 
if  the  mind  has  not  been  trained  by  severe  discip 
line,  to  a  love  for  the  noble  truths  of  the  higher  de 
partments  of  literature  and  science,  it  will  gorge 
itself  with  the  filthy  trash  of  what  is  popularly  term 
ed  light  literature.  Good  men  lament  this  deluge  of 
vile  stuff  that  is  sweeping  over  the  civilized  world, 
and  they  -gravely  advise  the  young  man  to  let  it 
alone.  But  the  young  man,  and  young  woman  too, 
will  read  ;  and  they  will  read  just  that  for  which 
their  minds  are  fitted.  You  might  as  well  advise 
them  to  spend  an  hour  after  dinner  over  Greek  or 
Sanscrit,  as  to  ask  them  to  lay  aside  their  novel  for  a 
work  of  literary  or  scientific  merit,  when  they  have 
had  no  education  which  gave  them  a  relish  for  such 
pursuits.  Would  you  keep  your  children  from  the 
companionship  of  the  low  and  vile  ?  Then  fit  them 
for  a  higher  companionship.  Would  you  keep  them 
from  inhaling  the  infection  of  a  diseased  literature  t 
Then  forestall  their  minds  with  something  better. 


32 

Unseal  for  them  the  fountain  of  knowledge  ;  let  them 
drink  its  inspiring  waters,  and  they  will  rarely  thirst 
for  the  slimy  pool  of  pollution  Open  to  them  the 
temple  of  learning  ;  let  them  tread  its  courts  and 
inscribe  their  names  upon  its  tablets,  and  they  will 
rarety  turn  away  to  the  haunts  of  vice  and  degrada 
tion. 

But  there  is  a  higher  reason  than  these  why  your 
children  should  be  educated.  God  requires  it.  He 
requires  that  men  should  love  him  with  all  the  heart, 
and  with  all  the  soul,  and  with  all  the  mind;  not 
with  a  mind  that  is  suffered  to  run  to  waste,  untaught, 
undeveloped  ;  but  with  a  mind  trained  and  fitted  for 
his  service.  By  so  much,  then,  as  an  educated  man 
can  be  more  efficient  in  his  Master's  service,  by  so 
much  are  you  under  imperative  obligations  to  give 
your  children  the  best  education  possible. 

The  nature  of  the  mind  itself  requires  it.  It  was 
made  to  know  and  to  take  delight  in  knowing  ;  to 
form  noble  conceptions  of  God  and  his  works  ;  to 
drink  in  joy  from  every  source  of  knowledge  ;  to 
rise  above  passion,  and  impulse,  and  sensuality  ;  to 
make  some  progress  towards  that  perfection  which  is 
its  birthright. 

Give  your  children  such  an  education  then,  urge  it 
upon  their  acceptance  ;  they  will  bless  you  for  it  in 
after  years.  It  will  be  a  richer  and  more  enduring 
inheritance  than  lands,  or  houses,  or  gold.  Let  us 
bring  the  means  of  such  an  education  into  our  very 
midst,  "  that  our  sons  may  be  as  plants  grown  up  in 
their  youth  ;  that  our  daughters  may  be  as  corner 
stones,  polished  after  the  similitude  of  a  palace." 

I  have  dwelt  long  upon  the  importance  of  develop 
ing  the  mental  resources  of  the  country,  because  I  deem 
it  of  the  first  importance  in  this  discussion.  I  now 


33 

proceed  to  argue  that  a  college  is  needed  here  be* 
cause,  for  the  highest  good  of  a  country,  its  mental  re 
sources  must  be  developed  within  itself,  and,  as  far  us 
possible,  by  its  own  agencies. 

The  literary  institutions  of  a  country  have  a 
greater  influence  in  determining  the  character  of-  a 
people  than  any  other  agency,  except,  perhaps,  its 
religion.  To  sustain  such  an  institution  calls  into 
exercise  the  best  energies  of  the  people.  The 
planter,  and  the  merchant,  as  well  as  the  man  of 
letters,  all  feel  a  personal  interest  in  it,  such  as  they 
would  never  feel  for  a  similar  institution  over  the 
waters  ;  and  they  think  about  it,  and  labor  for  it. 
Thus  their  own  energies  are  quickened,  and  new  zeal 
is  awakened  in  the  cause  of  education.  Then  there 
will  go  out  from  the  institution  itself  an  influence  to 
purify  and  to  bless.  If  it  is  what  it  should  be,  it 
will  give  character  to  the  literary  taste  of  the  com 
munity  ;  it  will  elevate  the  standard  of  intellectual 
attainment ;  it  will  wake  up  the  minds  of  the  people; 
and  this  thought,  quickened  into  action,  will  give  a 
steady  impulse  to  every  enterprise. 

No  community  can  long  maintain  a  high  standard  of 
intellectual  culture  and  refinement,  while  it  neglects 
the  means  which  alone  can  keep  that  standard  ele 
vated.  Having  no  fountain  of  intellectual  life  within 
itself,  the  intellect  that  is  there  soon  becomes  stag 
nant.  It  is  not  enough  that  a  few  fresh  drops  from 
another  land  should  be  scattered  into  that  pool  of 
stagnant  thought,  for  the  pool  will  be  stagnant  still. 
No  ;  there  must  be  a  pure,  fresh,  overflowing  foun 
tain,  bubbling  up  in  the  very  midst  of  the  waters,  send 
ing  its  thousand  little  life-giving  streams  all  over  the 
land.  It  is  not  enough  for  a  country  that  there  are 
great  minds  in  it ;  they  must  have  been  produced 


34 

and  educated  there.  The  development  of  great 
minds  requires  the  operation  of  innumerable  agen 
cies,  without  the  existence  of  which,  the  presence  of 
such  minds  is  of  comparatively  little  value.  The 
Mississippi  is  a  prince  among  the  rivers  ;  but  what 
would  it  be  worth  to  that  luxuriant  valley  through 
which  it  flows  if  it  were  not  formed  there  ?  If  those 
countless  smaller  streams  which  pour  each  a  tribute 
into  its  bosom,  thus  swelling  it  to  such  grand  pro 
portions,  were  all  dried  up,  turning  the  fertile  valleys 
into  barren  wastes,  and  the  smiling  praries  into 
deserts,  what  would  it  avail  if  the  river  could  still 
flow  on  ?  Where  would  be  the  cities  which  are  now 
springing  up  along  its  shores  ?  Where  the  com 
merce  which  now  borders  its  waters? 

Again,  in  a  pecuniary  point  of  view,  the  establish 
ment  of  a  college  here  would  be  profitable.  The 
reputation  of  a  community  abroad  will  depend  upon 
its  character  at  home,  and  the  reputation  of  a  country 
like  this  has  much  to  do  with  its  prosperity.  For 
some  time  to  come,  foreign  capital  must  be  attracted 
hither  to  develop  the  resources  of  the  country. 
Now,  business  men,  in  choosing  a  home  for  their 
families,  are  not  always  guided  solely  by  pecuniary 
motives.  Other  things  being  equal,  they  prefer  a 
home  among  a  refined  and  intelligent  people,  where 
the  facilities  for  education  are  provided  on  a  liberal 
scale.  Everything,  then,  which  elevates  the  stand 
ard  of  intelligence  among  us,  will  do  much  towards 
attracting  hither  a  virtuous  and  intelligent  commu 
nity,  and  by  so  much  will  enhance  the  value  of  each 
man's  property.  Permanent  institutions  give  perma 
nency  to  society  upon  which  the  value  of  pro 
perty  depends.  When,  then,  it  is  said  to  be  cheaper 
to  educate  our  children  abroad  than  at  home,  I 


35 

answer,  even  if  it  could  be  shown, which  is  doubtful — 
that  the  present  expense  is  a  few  dollars  less,  it  is 
not  cheaper  in  the  end  ;  for,  while  you  send  your 
children  abroad,  you  hinder  the  establishment  of 
such  institutions  as  give  tone  to  society  and  perma 
nency  to  the  value  of  property. 

Again,  an  educational  establishment  of  a  high 
order  is  peculiarly  needed  here  to  give  tone  to  society. 
The  elements  of  which  society  here  is  composed  are 
very  various.  England,  and  America,  and  France, 
and  Germany,  and  China,'  and  almost  all  the  civilized 
nations  have  their  representatives  in  this  community. 
Each  brings  his  national  peculiarities.  These  do 
not  readily  coalesse.  Hence  that  want  of  unity  and 
harmony  of  feeling  and  action  which  so  characterizes 
society,  and  which  is  so  fatal  to  the  best  interests  of 
social  life  Why,  then,  should  not  society  here  take 
its  tone  from  its  own  institutions  ?  Why  should  it 
not  have  its  own  nationality,  springing  from  the  edu 
cation  of  its  children  within  its  own  borders? 
Nothing  less  than  this  can  harmonize  the  conflicting 
elements  of  which  society  here  is  composed. 

Many  other  considerations  urge  themselves  upon 
our  attention,  but  the  limits  of  our  address  will  not 
admit  of  their  discussion.  There  is  one  point,  how 
ever,  which  though  we  have  hinted  at  it  before,  from 
its  importance,  demands  a  separate  consideration.  I 
would  have  a  college  here  that  our  sons  may  be  educa 
ted,  as  far  as  possible,  under  a  home  influence  and  a  pa 
rental  guidance.  Upon  this  point,  1  am  aware  that  I 
shall  not  have  the  sympathies  of  all  who  hear  me.  It 
is  the  fashion  of  the  age  to  break  away  early  from  the 
restraints  of  home.  The  young  man  of  fifteen  years 
who  has  not  the  independence  to  disobey  his  mother, 
is  laughed  at  for  his  effeminacy.  In  some  circles  it  is 


36 

not  manly  to  hear  the  instruction  of  a  father,  and 
obey  the  law  of  a  mother.  I  know  how  the  young 
man  feels.  He  is  impatient  of  restraint.  He  longs 
to  be  free  ;  to  think  for  himself ;  to  act  for  himself ; 
to  spend  money  for  himself.  He  feels  secure  in  his 
own  strength.  He  listens  respectfully  to  your  part 
ing  counsel,  but  his  inward  thought  is,  "  Just  as 
though  t  could't  take  care  of  myself !"  And  I  know 
there  are  those  who  talk  confidently  of  the  fearless 
ness  of  the  young  and  manly  heart.  Set  him  afloat, 
they  say.  Let  him  pilot  his  own  boat  through  the 
channels  of  life  ;  let  him  battle  alone  with  the  tem 
pests  of  passion,  and  struggle  alone  in  the  mael 
stroms  of  temptation  ;  let  the  storms  of  adversity 
beat  upon  him,  till  he  has  learned  how  to  suffer  and 
be  strong. 

But  I  will  venture  to  suggest,  in  opposition  to 
such  sentiments,  that  it  is  better  that  your  children 
be  educated,  as  far  as  possible,  under  a  home  influ 
ence.  Do  not  understand  me  to  argue  that  they 
should  be  cloistered  in  your  nurseries,  for  fear  of 
their  coming  in  contact  with  the  wicked  world  ;  we 
only  ask  that  they  may  not  be  sent  out  into  the  world 
of  strangers,  away  from  your  influence  and  guidance, 
where  they  can  have  no  counsellor  in  the  time  of 
danger  ;  no  near  friend  in  the  time  of  trouble. 

I  know  the  young  man  must  go  forth  at  some  time  ; 
and  the  question  is  sometimes  asked,  "When  will 
he  be  prepared  to  leave  home,  if  not  when  he  is 
fitted  for  college  ?"  At  exactly  what  age  no 
fixed  rule  can  determine.  Maturity  comes  earlier  to 
some  than  to  others.  But  there  is  a  period  in  the 
life  of  almost  every  young  man  when,  more  than  at 
any  other  time,  he  needs  such  restraint  and  guidance 
as  none  but  a  parent  can  give.  In  those  few  years 


37 

between  boyhood  and  manhood,  the  seal  is  generally 
set  upon  his  character.  As  a  general  rule,  this 
period  includes  the  few  years  of  college  life.  There 
are  some  whose  minds  are  developed  and  whose 
character  is  determined^  sooner  ;  but  generally  this 
is  the  most  critical  portion  of  a  young  man's  life. 
Then,  above  all  other  times;  he  needs  to  be  within 
your  reach  ;  then  he  needs  a  father's  wise  counsel 
and  a  mother's  gentle  admonition.  I  know  the 
young  man  does  not  think  so.  He  feels  confi 
dent  in  his  own  strength,  and  there  is  his  danger. 
If  he  felt  his  weakness  you  could  trust  him  better. 

Send  such  a  young  man  into  a  land  of  strangers, 
never,  for  years,  to  feel  the  refining  influences  of 
home,  of  a  father's  counsel,  a  mother's  love,  a  sister's 
caresses,  and  you  stake  his  future  hopes  on  a  fearful 
risk.  He  may  be  ambitious  to  excel,  and  your  heart 
may  swell  with  parental  pride  as  you  hear  of  the 
laurels  he  has  won  ;  but  how  will  your  pride  be 
turned  to  grief  when  you  see  that  the  brow  which 
wears  the  laurels  is  stamped  with  disease  !  He  may 
have  a  noble,  generous,  unsuspecting  heart.  How 
soon  covert  temptation  will  poison  the  fountains  of 
generous  impulses  in  such  a  heart  !  He  may  have 
strong  passions.  How  soon  will  he  be  hurried  away 
into  the  paths  of  sin  !  He  goes  forth  strong  in  the 
consciousness  of  rectitude,  but  only  to  return  in 
shame.  Oh  !  how  bitter  the  mother's  tears  over  her 
wayward  son  !  and  the  father's  grief — how  much  too 
deep  for  utterance!  Your  son  may  have  a  heart  full  of 
gentleness, — of  delicately  strong  chords  of  affection . 
Will  you  throw  him  into  the  rough  world  to  struggle 
alone  against  its  heartlessness,  till  every  tender  tie  is 
sundered  ;  every  kindly  feeling  and  holy  affection 
smothered  ? 
4 


38 

I  know  there  are  those  who  would  harden  the 
heart  against  these  delicate  affections ;  but  why  will 
you  tear  away  the  only  link  that  binds  the  soul  to 
heaven  ?  Why  make  the  heart  all  gross,  and  selfish, 
and  earthly  ?  Why  stop  the  ear  to  the  only  harmony 
that  breathes  among  the  discords  of  life  ? 

I  know  the  young  man  may  meet  all  these  dangers, 
and  yet  escape  ;  but  I  know,  too,  that  they  may  pro 
duce  effects  upon  his  character,  which,  even  if  not 
fatal  now  "  will  come  back  in  the  after  years,  strong, 
and  steady,  and  terrible." 

Let  him  be  educated,  then,  if  possible,  under  pa 
rental  guidance.  Let  him  not  be  shut  out,  alto 
gether  from  the  refining  influences  of  his  early  home, 
till  the  seal  of  manhood  is  upon  him. 

These  are  a  few  of  the  more  obvious  reasons  why 
it  seems  to  me  expedient  to  establish  a  college  upon 
these  islands.  Intimately  connected  with  this  sub 
ject  is  another,  The  kind  of  a  college  needed  here. 
Upon  this  I  had  intended  to  offer  a  few  suggestions, 
this  evening,  but  my  remarks  have  already  exceeded 
the  limits  assigned  them,  and  I  forbear. 

If  the  thoughts  suggested  are  founded  upon  truth, 
let  us  make  them  the  basis  of  action.  If  our  necessi 
ties  are  such  as  would  appear  from  these  considera 
tions,  let  us  engage  in  this  enterprise  with  zeal, 
trusting  in  Him  who  alone  can  guide  us.  Let  us 
open  in  our  very  midst  a  fountain  of  intellectual  life, 
and  bring  our  children  to  drink  of  its  healing  waters. 
Let  us  build  a  temple  where  learning  may  be  en 
shrined  ;  on  whose  altar  art,  and  literature,  and  re 
ligion  may  lay  their  holiest  offerings. 


APPENDIX. 

TB-HI  dfif.liftjg 

.itortuJOani  o»U  -0 

Extracts  from  the  Minutes  of  the  Board  of  Trus 
tees,  in  Relation  to  the  Election  of  President 
Beckwith. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Trustees,  on  the  13th  August,  after 
the  reading  of  Dr.  Anderson's  letter  of  June  13th,  1854,  urg 
ing  the  importance  of  a  college  at  Punahou,  but  stating  that  a 
suitable  person  had  not  yet  been  found  by  the  Am.  Board 
to  become  its  President,  it  was  unanimously, 

Resolved,  "  That  the  Trustees  of  the  Oahu  College,  do 
hereby  extend  to  Edward  G.  Beckwith,  Esq.,  a  cordial  invita 
tion  to  become  President  of  that  institution/' 

It  was  also  voted,  that  Messrs.  Clark,  Smith  and  Damon, 
be  a  committee  to  wait  on  Mr.  Beckwith  and  communicate 
to  him  the  above  resolution. 

At  an  adjourned  meeting  on  the  21st  of  August,  the  com 
mittee  above  named,  reported  that  they  had  performed  their 
duty,  and  submitted  the  following  letter,  as  Mr.  Beckwith's 
reply ; 

Honolulu,  Aug.  21st,  1854. 

GENTLEMEN: — The  resolution  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Oahu 
College  presented  to  me  by  you,  at  a  conference  held  on  Sa 
turday,  the  19th  inst.,  extending  to  me  "  a  cordial  invitation  to 
become  the  President  of  that  institution ,"  has  received  a 
careful  and  prayerful  consideration.  I  hereby  signify  my  ac 
ceptance  of  the  same,  and  my  willingness  to  labor  in  that  capa 
city  so  long  as  the  cause  of  education  and  religion  may  be 
thereby  promoted,  and  until  the  wants  of  the  institution  shall 
require  an  abler  man  at  its  head ;  provided  only  that  inasmuch 
as  the  laws  and  regulations  of  the  institution  have  not  yet  been 


40 

made,  this  acceptance  is   not  to  be  considered  as  final,  until 
the  following  conditions  are  satisfactorily  settled : 

1.  That  the  duties  and  obligations  of  tke  President  be 
specified. 

2.  That  the  terms  of  admission  to  the  institution  be  fixed, 
and  the  course  of  study  be  prescribed. 

3.  That  specific  regulations  be  made  for  the  government 
of  the  institution. 

4.  That  the  salary  of  the  President  be  determined. 

5.  That  the  Trustees  pledge  themselves  to  ask  me  to  resign 
whenever,  in    their   opinion,   the   interests  of  the  institution 
would  thereby  be  promoted. 

6.  That  it  be  distinctly   understood  by  the  Trustees,  that 
the  circumstances  under  which  the  enterprise  is  entered  u^c   . 
compel  me  to  regard  my  efforts  for  the   present,  only  as  u 
trial ;  and  if  it  shall  appear  that  there  are  elements  in  the  in 
stitution,  which  are  a  hindrance  to  its  success,  that  I  reserve  to 
myself  the  privilege  of  resigning,  after  due  notice. 

Your  humble  servant, 

E.  G.  BECKWITH. 
To  MESSRS.  CLARK,  SMITH  AND  DAMON, 

Committee  of  Trustees  of  Oahu  College. 

It  was  voted,  That  the  conditions  specified  in  Mr.  Beck- 
with's  letter  be  complied  with  ;  and  that  he  be  requested  to 
commence  his  labors  in  the  institution  as  soon  as  convenient. 

It  was  also  voted,  "  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to 
draw  up  a  set  of  rules  and  regulations  for  the  college,  to  be 
submitted  to  an  adjourned  meeting  of  the  Trustees." 

At  an  adjourned  meeting  on  the  20th  August,  the  com 
mittee  above  named  reported  a  set  of  "laws  and  by-laws" 
which  were  considered,  amended  and  adopted,  and  ordered 
to  be  printed  for  private  use. 

A  committee  was  also  appointed  10  prepare  a  Prospectus  of 
the  institution  for  publication. 

The  President  elect  was  requested  to  deliver  an  inaugural 
address  in  the  court  house  in  Honolulu,  and  a  committee  was 


41 

appointed  to  arrange  the  necessary  formalities  for  his  induc 
tion  to  office  at  the  same  time. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Trustees,  September  28th,  it  was 
voted,  "  That  the  iuauguial  address  of  President  Beck  with, 
together  with  the  other  addresses  delivered  in  connexion 
therewith,  be  published  in  pamphlet  form  ;  also  the  charter  of 
the  college,  and  the  proceedings  of  the  Trustees  in  relation  to 
the  late  new  arrangements. 


CHARTER   OF   OAKU  COLLEGE. 

Whereas,  E.  W.  CLARK,  S.  N.  CASTLE,  A.  THURSTON  and 
others,  associated  under  the  name  of  "  THE  PUNAHOU 
SCHOOL,"  on  the  island  of  Oahu,  ha\e  petitioned  that  said 
school  may  be  converted  into  a  College,  with  the  customary 
chartered  powers  and  privileges,  for  the  training  of  youth  in 
the  various  branches  of  a  Christian  education,  teaching  them 
sound  and  useful  knowledge  : 

Therefore  be  it  known  to  all  whom  it  may  concern  : 
1.  That  in  accordance  with  powers  vested  in  me  by  Section 
2nd,  of  the  General  Provisions  of  the  lirst  part  of  the  "  Act 
to  Organize  the  Executive  Departments,"  I  have  constituted, 
and  "do  hereby  constitute,  E.  W.  CLARK,  S.  N.  CASTLE, 
A.  THURSTON,  S.  C.  DAMON,  L.  LYONS,  D.  BALDWIN,  H.  R. 
HITCHCOCK,  W.  P.  ALEXANDER,  D.  B.  LYMAN,  L.  SMITH, 
R.  ARMSTRONG  and  G.  B.  ROWELL,  now  residents  of  these 
Islands,  a  corporate  body  by  the  name  of  "  The  Trustees  of 
the  Punahou  School  and  Oahu  College"  and  by  that  name 
they  may  sue  and  be  sued,  plead  and  be  impleaded,  appear, 
prosecute  and  defend  to  final  judgment  and  execution  ;  and, 
in  their  corporate  capacity,  they  may  take,  receive,  have  and 
hold,  lands,  tenements,  hereditaments,  or  personal  estate,  by 
gift,  grant,  or  otherwise,  for  the  benefit  of  said  Institution, 
not  exceeding  the  yearly  value  or  income  of  thirty  thousand 
dollars,  and  they  may  also  exchange  or  convey  property  ; 
only  provided,  that  all  the  property  aforesaid,  with  all  its  pro- 
4* 


42 

ceeds,  be  faithfully  appropriated  by  the  Trustees,  to  the  pur 
pose  and  object  of  the  Institution,  as  set  forth  in  the  Pre 
amble  to  this  instrument,  and  not  otherwise. 

2.  Be  it  hereby  further  known,  that  two  of  the  members  of 
this  Corporation,  successively,  shall  go  out  of  office  every 
year;  eligible,  however,  to  re-appointment,  taking  their  names 
in  the  order  in  which  they  are  recorded  in  this  Charter,  and 
reckoning  from  the  date  of  the  first  meeting  of  the  Corpora 
tion  ;  and  that  the  Corporation  hereby  constituted,  shall  have 
a  perpetual  succession  of  members,  to  be  elected  by  said 
Corporation,  from  time  to  time,  as  vacancies  may  occur,  with 
power  to  elect  a  Vice  President,  Secretary  and  Treasurer  of 
said  Corporation,  and  any  other  officers  they  may  deem  neces 
sary,  and  to  declare  the  tenure  of  their  respective  offices  ;  to 
remove  any  Trustee  from  the  Corporation,  whom  they  may 
find  incapable  of  discharging  the  duties  of  his  office,  or  habitu 
ally  negligent  of  the  same  ;  to  elect  a  President,  Professors, 
and  all  other  officers  of  instruction  and  government  in  said 
College,  and  to  declare  the  tenure  of  their  respective  offices ; 
to  determine  their  respective  clulies,  salaries,  emoluments  and 
responsibilities,  and  to  remove  them  from  office  at  any  timer 
for  good  and  sufficient  cause  ;  to  fix  the  times  and  places  of 
meeting  of  said  Corporation,  and  the  manner  of  notifying  the 
same ;  to  make  and  ordain  such  Bye-Laws,  as  they  may  deem 
expedient,  for  the  government  and  well-being  of  said  Col 
lege  and  of  said  Corporation,  not  repugnant  to  the  laws  of 
this  Kingdom  ;  to  provide  and  maintain  all  needful  and  suitable 
College  buildings  ;  to  determine  the  course  of  instruction  in 
said  College,  superintend  the  discipline  and  government  there 
of,  and  confer  the  usual  collegia te  honors  arid  degrees ;  and  to 
have  a  common  seal,  and  all  other  powers  and  attributes  usu 
ally  belonging  to  such  institutions.  And  the  President  of  said 
College,  for  the  time  being,  shall,  by  virtue  of  his  office,  be  a 
member  of  said  Corporation  and  President  of  the  same. 

3.  Be  it  hereby  further  known,  that  the  number  of  said 
Trustees  shall  never  be  less  than  nine,  nor  more  than  thir 
teen,  including  the  President  of  the  College  ;  a  majority  of 
whom,  for  the  time  being,  shall  constitute  a  quorum  lor  the 
transaction  of  any  business.  And  whenever  a  vacancy  shall 


43 

occur  in  said  Corporation,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  che  Trustees 
to  fill  the  same  with  all  reasonable  and  convenient  dispatch. 
And  every  new  election  shall  be  immediately  made  known  to 
the  Prudential  Committee  of  the  American  Board  of  Commis 
sioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  and  be  subject  to  their  approval 
or  rejection,  and  this  power  of  revision  shall  be  continued  to  the 
American  Board,  for  twenty  years  from  the  date  of  this 
Charter. 

4.  Be  it  hereby  further  known,  that  the  Treasurer  of  said 
Corporation,  shall  give    bond  to  the   same,  with  responsible 
and  approved  sureties  in  a  sufficient  sum,  conditioned  for  the 
responsible  and   faithful  discharge  of  his  office,  and   he  shall, 
annually,  or  oftener,  if  required,  render  a  full  and  correct  ac 
count  of  his  doings  therein  ;  and  he  may  be   required  to  give 
new  bonds  whenever  the  Corporation  shall  deem  it  expedient, 
and,  at  the  expiration  of  his   office,  shnll  deliver  over  to  his 
successor,  or  such  other  person  as  the  Corporation  shall  ap 
point, -all  the  books  and  papers  belonging  to  his  office,  and  all 
other  property  of  the  Corporation   in  his  hands,  or  under  his 
control. 

5.  Be  it  hereby  further  known,  that  the  three  Trustees  first 
named,  or  any  two  of  them,  may  call  the  first  meeting  of  the 
Corporation,  by  personal  notice  in  writing  to  each  member,  at 
least  seven  days  beforehand,   stati;  g  the   time  and   place  of 
said  meeting;  at  which  the  Trustees  may  agree  upon,  and  es 
tablish  the  mode  of  calling  future  meetings',  and  may  transact 
any  other  business  deemed  necessary  to  the  complete  organi 
zation  of  said  Corporation  and  the  future  government  of  the 
same. 

6.  Be  it  hereby  further  known,  that,  as  the  object  of  the 
Institution  is  u  the  training  of  youth  in  the  various  branches 
of  a  Christian   education"  and,   as  it    is  reasonable  that  the 
Christian  education  should  be   in  conformity  to  the  general 
views  of  the  founders  and  patrons  of  the  Institution,  no  course 
of   instruction  shall   be   deemed    lawful    in   said   Institution, 
which  is  not    accordant    with    the    principles    of    Protestant 
Evangelical   Christianity,  as  held  by  that   body  of  Protestant 
Christians,  in  the  Uuited  States  of  America,  which  originated 
the  Christian   Mission   to  these  Islands,  and  to  whose  labors 


44 

and  benevolent  contributions,  the  people  of  these  Islands  are  so 

greatly  indebted. 

C  }          Given  under  my  hand  and  the  Seal  of 

<  L.  S.  >      the  Interior  Department,  this  twenty-third 
(  )      day  of  May,  A.  D.,  1853. 

KEON1  ANA. 


PROSPECTUS  OF   OAHU   COLLEGE. 

More  than  a  year  ago,  a  charter  was  secured  for  a  college 
at  Punahou.  The  Trustees  have  since  been  seeking  for  a 
President  to  take  charge  of  the  institution.  They  are  happy 
to  announce  that  they  have  now  secured,  for  this  post,  the 
services  of  Mr.  E.  G.  Beck  with',  for  some  time  past,  Principal 
of  the  Royal  School.  His  experience  and  success  as  a  teacher, 
and  his  eminent  qualifications  for  this  post,  will  secure,  we 
have  no  doubt,  the  public  favor  for  the  institution. 

The  President  will,  for  the  present,  instruct  in  Mathema 
tics,  the  Natural  Sciences,  English  Literature  and  Intellectual 
Philosophy. 

Rev.  Mr.  Dole,  Professor  of  Languages,  will  instruct  in  the 
Ancient  and  Modern  Languages,  Geography,  History  and 
Moral  Philosophy. 

The  Trustees  deem  it  proper  to  state,  that  they  do  not 
hold  out  before  the  community  the  idea  of  a  liberally  endowed 
institution,  with  a  full  corps  of  Professors.  The  college  is 
now  in  its  infancy,  without  endowments,  having  only  the 
pledge  of  being  sustained  till  enlightened  arid  Christian  people 
in  this  and  other  lands,  shall  appreciate  the  necessity  of  such 
an  institution  here,  and  shall  supply  its  wants,  or  till  time  shall 
demonstrate  its  inutillity. 

It  is  probable  that  for  several  years  the  number  of  students 
will  be  small.  It  is  not  expected  that  any  class  will  present 
themselves  for  admission  to  the  collegiate  department  for 
several  months,  though  arrangements  have  been  made  to  com 
mence  a  class  as  soon  as  any  are  prepared  to  enter.  Mean 
while,  the  preparatory  department  will  be  organized  with  spe 
cial  reference  to  the  future  wants  of  the  college. 


45 

The  following  Prospectus  has  been  prepared  for  the  infor 
mation  of  all  who  may  feel  an  interest  in  the  institution. 

This  institution  is  located  at  Punahou,  two  miles  from 
Honolulu. 

The  laws  of  the  institution  are  intended  to  accomplish,  as 
far  as  possible,  the  following  objects  : 

1.  To  enable  a  student  to  pursue  any  single  course  which 
may  be  thought  to  be  for  his  advantage. 

2.  To  enable  a  student   to  pursue,  for  a  single  term,  a 
single  year,  or  any  greater  length  of  time,  such  studies  as  his 
parent  or  guardian,  in  consultation  with  the  Faculty,  may  be 
lieve  to  be  for  his  advantage. 

3.  To  allow  students  who  are  candidates  for  degrees,  to 
pursue  the  studies  necessary  for  a  degree,  in   a   longer  or 
shorter  time,  as  their  circumstances  or  ability  will  permit ;  the 
Faculty,  however,  having  the  right  so  to  direct  the  studies  as 
to  prevent  idleness  or  superficial  haste. 

PREPARATORY   DEPARTMENT. 

For  the  present  the  preparatory  department  is  open  to  any 
pupils  of  good,  moral  character,  whether  intending  to  become 
members  of  the  collegiate  department  or  not,  who  can  sustain 
an  examination  satisfactory  to  the  teachers,  in  Colburn's 
Mental  Arithmetic,  the  Elementary  Principles  of  English 
Grammar,  Topical  Geography,  Reading  and  Spelling. 

The  studies  pursued  in  this  Department  are  Mathematics^ 
including  Arithmetic,  Algebra  and  Geometry  ;  English  Lan 
guage,  including  Orthography,  Etymology,  Analytical  Gram 
mar,  English  Composition  and  Reading;  Belles'  Letters, 
including  Oratory  and  the  Analysis  and  Criticisms  of  English 
Poetry  ;  Geography;  History,  Sacred  and  Profane  ;  Natural 
Sciences,  including  the  Elementary  Principles  of  Natural 
Philosophy,  Physiology  and  Astronomy,  Vocal  Music  and  the 
Ancient  Languages. 

Instruction  will  be  given  in  Instrumental  Music,  Writing 
and  Drawing,  at  an  extra  charge,  whenever  there  is  a  sufficient 
number  of  pupils  who  wish  to  attend  to  these  branches  to 
make  it  desirable. 


46 

COLLEGIATE  DEPARTMENT. 

The  degrees  conferred  by  the  college,  in  course,  are  three? 
Master  of  Arts,  Bachelor  of  Arts  and  Bachelor  of  Philosophy. 

Those  wishing  to  enter  the  institution  as  candidates  for 
the  degrees  of  A.  M.,  will  be  examined  in  English,  Latin  and 
Greek  Grammar;  Arithmetic,  Algebra  to  Ratio;  Physiology; 
Cicero's  Select  Orations ;  Sallust,  or  its  equivalent,  and  Virgil, 
and  in  the  Greek  Reader,  or  its  equivalent. 

For  the  degree  of  A.  B.,  one  of  the  Ancient  Languages 
may  be  omitted,  and  for  the  degree  of  B.  P.  neither  will  be 
required. 

The  degree  of  A.  M.  is  intended  for  those  who  wish  to 
pursue  a  full  course  of  academic  education,  as  prescribed  in 
the  laws  of  the  college,  and  this  course  will  require  four  or 
five  years  of  study. 

The  degree  of  A.  B.,  is  designed  for  those  who  wish  to 
prepare  themselves  for  the  different  professions,  and  yet  are 
not  able  to  pursue  a  complete  course.  This  course  will  require 
three  or  four  years  of  study,  being  nearly  the  same  as  for  the 
degree  of  A.  M.,  except  one  Ancient  Language. 

The  degree  of  B.  P.,  is  intended  for  those  who  wish  to 
prepare  for  the  pursuits  of  active  life.  In  this  course  the 
Ancient  Languages  may  be  omitted,  but  one  Modern  Lan 
guage  will  be  required  and  a  complete  course  in  Book- 
Keeping,  accompanied  with  Lectures  upon  Commerce  and 
Mercantile  Transactions. 

No  pupil  will  be  entitled  to  a  degree  in  course,  without 
having  been  a  member  of  the  college  at  least  two  terms,  and 
having  passed  a  thorough  examination  in  the  studies  pre 
scribed  in  the  college  laws. 

TERMS    AND   VACATIONS. 

The  year  will  be  divided  into  three  terms  of  twelve  weeks 
each.  The  first  term  commences  on  the  first  Wednesday  in 
August. 

There  will  be  three  vacations  during  the  year,  the  first  of 
one  week,  the  second  of  three  weeks,  and  the  third  of  twelve 
weeks. 

TUITION  AND  BOARD. 

Twelve    dollars   per  term    will   be   charged   for  tuition, 


47 

making  no  deduction  for  parts  of  a  term,  except  in  cases  of 
protracted  sickness. 

Students  can  be  boarded  at  the  boarding  establishment 
connected  with  the  institution  at  five  dollars  per  week,  in 
cluding  room-rent,  lights  and  washing ;  payment  to  be  made 
in  advance.  Students  are  expected  to  provide  furniture 
for  their  own  rooms. 

SESSION. 

The  preparatory  department  will  be  in  session  from  9 
o'clock,  A.  M.,  till  2  o'clock,  P.  M. 

TIMES  OF  ADMISSION. 

The  commencement  of  the  academic  year  is  the  regular 
time  for  the  admission  of  pupils.  None  will  be  received  at 
any  other  time,  unless  they  are  prepared  to  enter  some  of 
the  existing  classes. 

E.  W.  CLARK, 
S.  N.  CASTLE, 
S.  C.  DAMON, 
L.  SMITH, 
R.  ARMSTRONG. 

Committee  of  Trustees. 
Honolulu,  Aug.  28th,  1354, 


